The American Dental Association its members to reduce the number of opioid painkillers they are prescribing. The Association announced a new policy stating that members should “essentially eliminate” opioids from the list of remedies they have at their disposal, “if at all possible.”
Weekly Limits for Narcotics
The Association also wants to have a time limit put in place on prescriptions of no more than one week at a time. Under the new policy, dentists would be required to complete a mandatory education program that encourages use of other pain relievers.
Dentists Prescribe Most Opioids to US Teens
Dental practitioners are the leading source of opioid prescriptions for US teens, even though they write less than seven percent of opioid prescriptions in the US. During the period from 2010-2015, the most notable increase in dental prescriptions was for patients aged 11-18. The rate jumped from close to 100 per 1,000 patients to 165 per 1,000 patients. Among all age groups, the rate increased from 131 per 1,000 patients to 147 per 1,000 patients.
Other Options Shown to be Just as Effective
The number of opioid prescriptions written by dentists continues to rise even though evidence has shown that ibuprofen and acetaminophen control most dental pain effectively, according to an analysis conducted on five studies. The results were published in the Journal of the American Dental Association. These over-the-counter medications are less risky than opioids, which are addictive.
When dentists prescribe opioids, they tend to prescribe Vicodin or Percocet to relieve the short-term pain from procedures such as wisdom teeth extractions, dental implants and root canal work.
Dr. Paul Moore, Professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Dentistry and the co-author of the analysis, said that the fact dentists are still prescribing opioids when other options are just as effective most of the time is “a little disturbing.”
The Association’s new policy supports requiring dentists to complete continuing education courses on limiting opioid use to retain their license. A number of states have already adopted this policy.
